Active Track and APAS in woods

john2k · Apr 19, 2018

I sometimes go biking or segway in the woods. Let's say I am in a wood which has trees on the left and right and some are arching over from one side to the other and lets say the path is like a roads width but not 100% straight. If I launch the Mavic Air lets say behind me exactly centred between left and right tree at a height so it doesn't go and touch the tree at the top and get it to active track. As the path bends and things how will it follow you? will it maintain that centre position of the path?

highcastle · Apr 19, 2018

I wouldn’t even try it - the sensors on the Mavic Air are decent but they are not good enough for what you’re trying to do. It doesn’t have sensors on the top.

Epp1983 · Apr 19, 2018

Short answer is no.
While the Mavic is in Active Track it will always fly in a straight line towards you if there are no obstacles.
So, as you take the first bend (let's say to the left) it will start moving towards the left side of the road, and even out of the road if it needs to.
I attached a file with 3 examples. Sorry for the crappy artwork but I think you'll understand.

Robothamster · Apr 19, 2018

I agree, I recently attempted to use Active Track in the woods when on my MTB, just on a dead straight fire road, and it managed to drift into the trees by the side and stop. Missed the branches somehow, but overall it was a total failure.

Tinmania · Apr 19, 2018

Skydio R1 should be able to handle it!

Just_nick · Apr 19, 2018

Remember that the obstacle avoidance sensors on the DJIs are pretty much a gimmick, and this becomes readily apparent if you fly anywhere in the vicinity of trees and branches. Also, active track can do so very weird things, such as drift to the side or kamikaze the target, which is an expensive lesson. I've had the drone just start wandering forward and sideways as I stood still, and it ignored the tree that it was getting extremely close to, so I had to manually elevate the drone because it was on a collision course with a branch.

It is also not in any way intelligent, because it will not predict your path in the case that it loses you for a second. I tested this several times, and it basically just ended up stopping dead every single time.

And let's not forget about RTH. If your drone loses connection to the remote, it's going to go straight up into anything above it. And that'll be expensive, because it will rise to whatever minimum height. That, or you risk setting it to hover.

Basically, the only way I would do Active Track is if I can set the drone above every obstacle, such that it has no obstacles for it to smash into for no good reason, or if I could have a second person holding the controller at all times and ready to intervene. But, then I might as well have them just fly the drone, no? Defeats the purpose of active track.

swooshdave · Apr 19, 2018

Just_nick said:
Remember that the obstacle avoidance sensors on the DJIs are pretty much a gimmick, and this becomes readily apparent if you fly anywhere in the vicinity of trees and branches. Also, active track can do so very weird things, such as drift to the side or kamikaze the target, which is an expensive lesson. I've had the drone just start wandering forward and sideways as I stood still, and it ignored the tree that it was getting extremely close to, so I had to manually elevate the drone because it was on a collision course with a branch.

It is also not in any way intelligent, because it will not predict your path in the case that it loses you for a second. I tested this several times, and it basically just ended up stopping dead every single time.

And let's not forget about RTH. If your drone loses connection to the remote, it's going to go straight up into anything above it. And that'll be expensive, because it will rise to whatever minimum height. That, or you risk setting it to hover.

Just set it to hover or try to land near the RC.

Just_nick said:
Basically, the only way I would do Active Track is if I can set the drone above every obstacle, such that it has no obstacles for it to smash into for no good reason, or if I could have a second person holding the controller at all times and ready to intervene. But, then I might as well have them just fly the drone, no? Defeats the purpose of active track.

Get out and try it. That's the only way you'll find out what works. Just because it doesn't work in one scenario doesn't mean it will never work.

Tips:

Make sure the subject is high contrast to the background. Tough to do in a shaded area.

Lots of tiny branches everywhere is not ideal. For any drone.

If you move out of the camera's view you will lose Active Track. As said it doesn't predict where you are going, it just follows you as you move.

MrRobville · Apr 20, 2018

I recently tried active track in a dense wooded area, at a very very slow pace while keeping a constant eye on the drone. I was surprised that it avoided quite a few smaller branches, however, I'm sure my heart stood still the entire time as it is damm scary. So the only footage I shot was a concerned face constantly looking at the camera with a controller in his hands. 3 things that completely defeat the purpose of active track.
I do however feel that in wide open areas, this feature can be pretty neat as you can more easily leave the drone be, not being concerned about any obstacles.

Just do not believe any promotional videos where people zip through forests on their mountain bikes at speeds over 30mph and the drone neatlessly trailing behind like somekind of automatic fighter jet taking footage like a Hollywood action movie. Because it isn't. The only action you'll most likely see is a $1000 crash and an angry wife.
Just consider these sensors more as a failsafe rather than a Tesla-like feature.

turkish · Apr 20, 2018

I am thinking of using the Air to track some segments on a road bicycle ride in a clean area. Does somebody know the max speed the MA tracks the subject?

john2k · Apr 20, 2018

MrRobville said:
The only action you'll most likely see is a $1000 crash and an angry wife.
Just consider these sensors more as a failsafe rather than a Tesla-like feature.

LOL

swooshdave · Apr 20, 2018

turkish said:
I am thinking of using the Air to track some segments on a road bicycle ride in a clean area. Does somebody know the max speed the MA tracks the subject?

The highest speed I’ve seen in videos is 17mph. But I have yet to see someone turn off OA and try it.

dragonmuzz · Apr 20, 2018

I've turned off the OA many times and have not noticed any speed increase ....I never used it on my P3 and P4 so have no need for it really .I'd rather have a higher cruising speed then OA